Necessity of Assessing Biological Exposure to Arsenic Species by Two Representative Analytical Methods

• Published in: Toxics (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 6; p. 138
• Main Authors: Seo, Jeong-Wook, Hong, Young-Seoub
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 11.06.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Abandoned mines; Analytical methods; arsenate; Arsenates; Arsenic; Arsenite; Atomic absorption analysis; Atomic absorption spectroscopy; biological exposure assessment; Chemical speciation; Chromatography; Chronic exposure; Creatinine; dimethylarsenic acid; Drinking water; Exposure; High performance liquid chromatography; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Mines; Plasma; Pollution; Quality control; Quality standards; Questionnaires; Reference materials; Scientific imaging; Skin cancer; Species; Spectral analysis; Toxicity; Urine; St Louis Missouri; United States > US; Japan; Germany
• ISSN: 2305-6304; 2305-6304
• DOI: 10.3390/toxics9060138

Arsenic (As) exists as highly toxic chemical species. Chronic exposure to its inorganic form can cause multiple organ failure and skin cancer in humans, warranting the need to determine the toxicity of each chemical species. This study evaluated the proportions of exposure to four chemical species of As (cAs), namely arsenite (AsIII), arsenate (AsV), monomethylarsinic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsenic acid (DMA), and it confirmed the necessity of evaluating biological exposure to cAs. Urine samples were collected from 457 subjects residing near 103 abandoned metal mines. Hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy (HG-AAS) was performed to measure the combined concentration of four cAs (hAsAAS). High-performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) were performed to determine the concentrations of the individual cAs and the sum of the four cAs (hAsICP). The proportions of AsV and MMA were relatively higher in the low-hAsICP concentration section. These findings suggest that hAsAAS, which is mainly used for its cost-efficiency, is limited for evaluating exposure. Though hAsAAS was found to exist in a low concentration, highly toxic AsV and MMA could be observed in high concentrations. Therefore, HPLC-ICP-MS is recommended for assessing cAs in environmentally vulnerable areas such as abandoned metal mines.